The Root
by Joyce LaKee
Summary: Latie tries some of Ayla's root, with unexpected results. Crossover with Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the crossing over

The young woman awoke on the ground, surrounded by the tallest trees she had ever seen. She sat up and looked around curiously. The last thing she had seen after she ingested the root was the inside of her own sleeping platform, and the earthen ceiling above her bed. She wondered if this was a spirit world, like Mamut talked about. She felt the same, but maybe that didn't mean anything.

She stood up slowly, watching for anything dangerous, like wild animals. This place was a far cry from the snowy, windswept steppes she came from. However, she reasoned, a spirit world wouldn't look exactly like home. She wished she had Mamut to expain things to her. The animals they hunted were animals of the steppes. She couldn't imagine even a spirit mammoth being able to walk through this densely packed forest. Now that she was here, which way to go. She glanced up at the sky, took another look around her and chose.

The young woman started walking, looking for a herd. Of anything. Mammoth would bring her status with her camp, especially if the ensuing hunt was successful. But, anything would do--antelope, horses, whatever. She thought about finding a baby horse to raise, just like her friend Ayla. The young woman missed her older friend and had been restless and moody ever since they came back from Summer Meeting. The winters were generally monotonous, and now even Deegie was gone, off with her mate to start a new camp. Last year had the excitement of visitors, but this year was one boring day after another. When she had found the root Ayla and Mamut had used when they recreated the Clan Ceremony, she decided to try it. Just a little bit. She didn't want to walk in the spirit world forever, and she knew that there was a very real possibility of that happening with this plant. Just a tiny amount, just to see what would happen. So, here she was, starting her own adventure. Just like Ayla.

the hut

The young woman hadn't had far to walk when she saw smoke curling up through the trees. They had fire in the spirit world? She hadn't considered the possibility of human spirits, but it wasn't unreasonable. As she approached the direction of the smoke, she noticed the smell was from wood. She had smelled wood smoke before, usually at Summer Meeting. During the rest of the year, her people burned mammoth bone. Of course, she had seen many trees here, but no mammoth.

The trees seemed to thin out now, and she walked slowly, observing, blending in with the surrounding vegetation. Two steps here, three steps there, now sideways, now forward. She thought she could see something through the trees and she crouched down to approach unseen.

Carefully she crept forward until she could see the strangest shelter she had ever laid eyes on. The sides seemed to be made of mud, or stone, or both. The roof. Was that pieces of wood and tall grasses? She wanted to get closer to see. There was a large opening, clearly a door, although it was covered with wood, perhaps. Definitely not an animal hide. Strangest of all, were holes cut into the side of the house. Too small to be extra doors and too high up to be practical to climb through. Although it probably could be done that way. But the most peculiar thing about these holes was that although she could see glimpses inside the shelter, she could also see the faint reflections of trees, such as you could see in lakes. The holes were covered with something, some wierd kind of ice that doesn't melt? Why not. After all, things must be different in the spirit world.

The woman crouched down lower when she saw a man come out the door. He was huge, even bigger than Talut, the mate of her mother. He was dressed in animal skins and something else. Maybe woven fibers. Rather unusual. She watched, stock-still as he crossed his yard with a large club in one hand and approached an enclosure. The woman had not seen the sleeping animal inside, but it woke up and started making loud noises. The man reached into a bag at his waist and threw some meat towards it, and the animal snapped it out of the air and settled down to eat it, making contented noises. She heard the man talking to the animal before he turned and walked away.

So. The man was a Mamut. A powerful Caller, by all appearances. And, that animal! Spirit animals must not look like their counterparts in the physical world. She did not see anyone else around. Maybe he was on a solitary spiritual path. Watching the strange animal eat, the woman felt her own hunger. She would approach the Mamut and request hospitality. She didn't know if it was ever nighttime here, but if so, she would also need shelter. She was Nezzie's daughter, a high-status woman. She did not want to disgrace her family by arriving empty-handed. Remembering some of the vegetation she had seen on the way, she decided she would approach him bearing a gift.


	2. Chapter 2

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the attack

The woman set herself to gathering some of the edible plants, storing them carefully in a soft hide bag she carried with her. She was glad she had something to carry the food in, because she hadn't brought any of her collecting baskets with her, and didn't even know how one would bring things here. She had arrived with only the clothes on her back.

She was nearly finished collecting food when she heard a branch crack and turned around to see some creature approaching her. She had never seen anything like it, but it looked dangerous and much bigger than she. She screamed as it lunched towards her and she picked up the nearest heavy object.

Rubeus Hagrid was walking through the Forbidden Forest early in the afternoon on a sunny fall day. He would patrol the area near his hut, looking for any unusual activity, making sure his favorite creatures were safe and happy. He was heading back towards the hut when he heard a young girl's scream and an animal roar. On alert, he ran towards the source of the noise. Perhaps one of the students had foolishly wandered into the Forest, although it was forbidden by school rules. Well, whoever it was had a serious problem now, and if he didn't get there on time, they might be sending back the remains in a glass jar.

He arrived on the scene to see a red haired girl (Ginny?) swing an enormous tree branch at his favorite hippogriff and smack it squarely on the head. The hippogriff reared back in pain, then went to lunge at the girl again. She was swinging the branch again, when Hagrid yelled, "Buckbeak, here boy," and ran forward, waving some food towards the hippogriff to catch its attention, then threw it in a direction away from the girl.

The woman thought she was destined to stay in the spirit world forever when the creature reared back a second time. Her first blow had been nothing more than a lucky chance. She was a little stronger than most of the girls her age, but this creature was twice as big as she was. She swung the tree branch back again and was getting ready to give her best shot when she heard a man's voice yelling. Through her terror and the noise of the animal, she wasn't sure what he had said, but she turned her head. It was the Mamut Caller.

She watched, shaking, as he lured the animal away. When the creature was safely out of sight, the man turned towards her again, and was talking again. Now she was certain she didn't understand the language. It was not Mamutoi or even Sharamudoi. It didn't matter. She needed help, and he was the first human she had seen. Besides, she was a grown woman now, and was she not the daughter of Nezzie, mate of the headman? She took a deep breath, wiped her hands on her tunic and walked toward him, smiling broadly.

Taking his hands in hers, she said, "I, Latie of the Mamutoi, of the Lion Hearth of the Lion Camp, daughter of Nezzie, mate of the headman Talut, brother of Tulie, greet you."

When he turned to look at her after Buckbeak ran off, he realized that she was not one of the students. She was also quite young, no more than a teenager, and she was dressed in a beaded leather tunic and leather leggings. Even her shoes (if you could call them that) were of leather. When she walked towards him he could see that her red hair was done in a dizzying design of braids and whatnot and she was wearing a necklace made of the teeth of a great cat.

What struck him the most peculiar was that despite being attacked by the enormous hippogriff, she had not panicked. She must be accustomed to dangerous animals, he thought. Why had he not seen her before? She couldn't be living alone, she was too young. She must have parents around somewhere. He started to wonder just how old she was when she strode to him confidently, took his hands, then started speaking a string of unintelligeable words, and maintained eye contact. Most of the students were well-mannered enough, but they did not seek out the company of the teachers, especially in this confident, oddly adult manner.

"Hullo, do you speak English?" He asked, doubtfully.

The girl grinned again, let go one of his hands and tapped her chest. "Latie...Latie"

"Hagrid," he responded. "Call me Hagrid."


	3. Chapter 3

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the learning

Latie set in to learning Hagrid's language as quickly as she could. She needed him to teach her how to Call animals, but she never imagined there would be a different language in the spirit world. Perhaps this was why the mamutii trained for so many years. Latie was afraid that she didn't have years ahead of her. She had no idea what was happening in her own world. Had they found her body and been unable to waken her? What happened to time when one left the commonplace world to walk in the spirit world? She was a little afraid to think she might wake up buried. She had to learn as fast as she could.

Hagrid found Latie to be a quick study. He realized that she was conciously trying to learn his language, and sensed her urgency, but was surprised she did not try to leave. She stayed in his hut and tried to learn the names of everything around her. He toyed with the idea of taking her up to Dumbledore, but decided against it for one simple reason--she was a muggle, and muggles weren't brought to Hogwarts. He wanted to be able to talk to her so he could find out how a muggle girl came to be in the Forbidden Forest alone and unprotected. There was so much he wanted to learn about her and her people. Her clothes and language were completely unfamiliar. Some of her ways were strange to him, and she was clearly unfamiliar with the use of many of his ordinary possesions and almost reverent when she watched him with his creatures. Yet, for all her strange ways, there was nothing crude or gauche about her. Whoever her people were, they were quality.

the living

As the days passed by, they settled into a routine of sorts. From the first night, when Latie insisted on making supper, meal preparation became part of her day. She had admired the knife Hagrid was using because she had never seen metal before and was facinated that she could see herself clearly in it. He gave it to her. She used the spices in unfamiliar ways and added different vegetables to meat to make food that was tasty and a little exotic. She didn't always have him around to eat with because he had to make an appearance at the Great Hall often enough not to arouse suspicion. If he didn't eat supper with her, she would save the leftovers for the midday meal.

He brought her some clothes he got from Hogwarts, discards and lost items. She thought they were the most exotic clothes she had ever seen, but she refused to wear the shoes. They were stiff and rubbed her feet. She kept her own foot coverings.

She tidied the hut and kept house for him, much to his dismay, for he hadn't brought her ther to be a maid. When others were around in the yard, she stayed hidden within the hut. The rare moments someone came in the hut, she would slip out the back door and skulk around the edge of the Forest until Hagrid came to find her. The first time she took off, he had been quite worried, and she was unable to explain that she simply didn't want to meet any other spirits while she didn't know the language well enough. Actually, the arrangement was a little uncomfortable for Hagrid. Latie wanted to be kept secret. Hagrid wasn't positive but he suspected that there was probably some rule against faculty members harboring teenage muggle girls in their private quarters. He hadn't been sure how to tell Dumbledore, but he also didn't want to keep her a secret. On the other hand, he did enjoy her company and it was nice to have someone to talk to at the end of the day.

Latie had been amazed at her first sight of the castle on the hill. She had never seen such a shelter, and it was even more foreign than the hut. Like the hut, she could see it was built to be climbed up into, as opposed to the Mamutoi longhouse, which was built partially into the ground. When she could talk better and Hagrid told her there were dungeons and chambers built under Hogwarts Camp, she wondered how it did not simply sink into the ground.

Latie insisted on going with Hagrid as he made his rounds of the Forest. He wanted to forbid her, but he was more afraid she would explore on her own. She seemed very anxious to see all the animals for some reason, and he could protect her better if she was with him. She fastened a spear using the knife as the tip and would not hear of leaving it behind. As they patrolled the Forest together, he realized that she had pretty good hunting and tracking skills. She knew how to walk silently and observe disturbances in soil and vegetation. At first she would gather edible plants as they walked, but he discouraged her from doing that. He got all the food he needed from Hogwarts and didn't need to deplete the Forest. He had a hard time explaining this to her, and it was clear to him that she complied only as a favor to him. For her part, Latie watched Hagrid closely to try to learn how to call. But she grew frustrated because she felt there was some vital fact she was missing.


	4. Chapter 4

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the realization

Latie wasn't sure when it happened, but as her command of Hagrid's language grew, she realized that he was no Mamut Caller, and this was not the spirit world. With this realization came a huge problem. Where exactly was she? There were no forests near her home. She only knew it was a forest because she had heard people describe them, people who had been on Journeys. Ayla and Jondalar had both grown up in forests, after all. So did the River People. Did the root take her far away from her home? Was that possible? She still felt very much like herself, very alive. She still felt cold and heat and hunger and pain. Hagrid couldn't teach her Calling, but perhaps he could tell her where she was, and how to get back home.

The two of them spent a very frustrating evening, Latie trying to describe her dilemna and Hagrid trying hard to understand. Okay, okay, her people were called the Mamutoi, but she didn't know what country they were from. She was Caucasian, but that didn't really narrow it down. Her language was utterly unlike anything he had ever heard and her accent was peculiar. She had told him a little of her life, but he wasn't sure he understood. Her mother's husband was some sort of chief. That would explain the intricate decoration on her clothes. The honored big cats and some other animal, but her description only confused him. She lived in a house with several other families. She knew how to hunt. She wanted to go back home.

He seized the opportunity to offer to take her to Dumbledore, but she refused. She wanted Hagrid to help, no one else. During the time she had stayed with him, she seemed to have developed a shyness for other people. After much arguing, she finally agreed to think about it.

the lesson

On some days people would come to the hut, and Hagrid would go out to meet them. Latie remained hidden in the hut, looking through the windows, watching them. His visitors were young people, about her age, and Hagrid seemed to be explaining animals to them. Latie found the idea highly amusing. She grew up with the Mammoth Hunters and had been on hunting trips for the last several years. She knew the habits of living animals and the uses for dead ones. Sometimes the young people seemed afraid of the creatures, and she was appalled at how often they did things, probably unknowing, that would provoke the creatures to attack. There wasn't one she would want as a hunting companion.

Except maybe one. A couple times she saw a boy about her age with wonderful blond hair. He reminded her of Jondalar, as she sighed dreamily. His companions acted like people from the lower status camps, but he was the one she liked to watch. She wished she could go and talk to him, but she was too shy.

Hagrid had tried to explain Hogwarts to her, but she didn't quite understand. A Camp made of only young people and a few older adults? Some elders, but no babies. She couldn't imagine a camp with no babies. Then she remembered. Was it like the Camp of the Rites of Womanhood where she had been sequestered part of last summer? Hagrid didn't know, because she didn't have the vocabulary to explain it. Which was just as well. He would have been hideously embarrassed.

All the same, she was growing lonely, with no one her own age to talk to, and seeing the blond boy reminded her of her responsibilities as a woman--to find a mate and establish her own hearth. She asked Hagrid to arrange a meeting between her and the blond boy, but he flatly refused. She attempted to wheedle an agreement out of him, but it was hopeless. The evening ended in her stamping her foot and storming off to bed in tears.


	5. Chapter 5

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the capture

All the next day he avoided her, saying he had responsibilities upat the castle, and left her alone, hoping she wouldn't do anything foolish like wander back into the woods. As they ate dinner that evening, and he was trying to find a way to persuade her to go to Dumbledore, they heard a commotion outside. Hagrid got up and went out the front door. Latie could hear his voice and others, and she tried to hear what they were saying. Her command of the language was not good enough to allow her to evesdrop on people speaking rapidly.

As she stood listening, she came to a decision quickly. She wasn't getting home like she needed to, and perhaps it was time to resume her search. Hagrid had said he knew a person who could help her. It was time to take him up on that offer.

Latie gathered her courage and opened the door wide, so she was standing in silohuette against the light inside the hut. From the light spilling out into the yard, she could see three young people and one older person. The girl was dressed like she was, so she knew they were from Hogwarts Camp. They must not be used to people on a Journey, for they all stared at her. Remembering this was Hagrid's hut and she was Hagrid's guest, she walked down the steps and confidently strode to the oldest stranger, smiling and holding out her hands. She took his hands when he didn't hold his out to her, and found herself looking into the blackest eyes she had ever seen. "I, Latie of the Mamutoi, of the Hearth and Camp of the great cat, daughter of Nezzie, wife of the headman Talut, brother of Tulie, greet you."

Not only were his eyes black, but so was his hair and clothing. He looked down at her with an unfathomable expression before looking at Hagrid. Latie let go of his hands, wondering. Maybe he was someone like Frebec, whose ties and affiliations were not worth mentioning. She, too, glanced at Hagrid, who came to her side and said quietly, "Latie, this is Professor Snape."

Ignoring Latie, Snape said, "I won't even ask why there's a muggle girl in your hut wearing a Hogwarts uniform. However, Dumbledore needs to know about this."

Hagrid spoke to Latie, "You know, Dumbledore may be able to help you get home."

Latie stepped away from the two men, walking slowly towards the hut. With rising irritation, Snape realized she was actually deciding whether to accompany them back to the castle! He thought to challenge her, then realized that she wasn't a student, and he really didn't have any authority over her. He could try to intimidate her. There were the other students watching the whole affair, and discipline had to be considered. But he was saved from having to exert himself when Latie stopped and strode quickly back to the waiting men.

"Yes, Hagrid, I go." She paused. "I not come back here again?"

"No, Latie, you wont."

"I get my clothes"

Latie shut the door of the hut behind her and changed into her beaded tunic, leggings and lion teeth necklace. She rolled the Hogwarts clothes into a little bundle and tied them with twine and slung them over her shoulder. Then she picked up the spear and went outside, ignored the stares of the strangers as they saw her in the clothes that marked her as a woman of high status and high bride-price, and took her place between the two men, nodding briefly at the young people following behind, as they climbed the hill.


	6. Chapter 6

All Earth's Children characters belong to Jean Auel. All Harry Potter Characters belong to JK Rowling. I just wrote this for fun, not profit.

the climax and the denoument

The climb up the hill was to be Latie's last clear memory of her time at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had been sympathetic, but insistent that she leave. It took several days research through some of the oldest archived parchments, and his plan was not without risk, but he was able to send her back to her people with a high degree of precision--she had not been missed.

Dumbledore had gently obliviated her memory so that she would remember the time in Hagrid's hut only in recurring dreams, and her brief stay at the castle was no more than disjointed images.

Latie woke up after her "dream" and lay in her bed, going over each detail. She had come to respect the root. It must carry powerful magic to cause such vivid dreams, and she was a little afraid of it. Furthermore, it seemed to her as the days went by, that sometimes Old Mamut would look at her strangely. She had no calling to the mamutii, however, and Mamut passed into the spirit world two years later without her ever telling him of the dream or the root that caused it.

For the most part, she went on to live a normal life, although a long one. She had her recurrent "dream" at times of great change in her life--her matrimonial, the births of her children, the deaths of Nezzie and Talut, the arrival of the grandchildren, and the death of her beloved mate.

When she finally held her great-grandchild for the first time, she felt a stirring, as if the veil between the dream world and the real world had blown aside, and all she had experienced at Hogwarts Camp came back to her in real, vivid relief. For a while she sat, cross legged on the mat beside her sleeping granddaughter, holding the next generation in her arms, as memories washed over her. Two strange shelters, exotic animals, outlandish clothing, a man bigger than Talut, a man older than Old Mamut and another man with the blackest eyes she had ever seen. And the Jondalar-boy.

She came back to herself when her own daughter reached over to touch her on the shoulder. Latie laughed a little, and handed the baby to its grandmother. Four generations around the same hearth. She could be forgiven a touch of senility.

Latie herself died before the baby was three summers old. She was not to know that the little girl, to whom she gave the name Rodie, was to grow up to be a powerful Mamut, and as the millenia rolled by, from her line would decend a line of powerful wizards. Among these wizards was Albus Dumbledore.


End file.
